Did you ever wonder what makes Pop Rocks pop? Instructables user chickflix lets the cat out of the bag with a simple recipe for the combustible candy.

~ 2 Cups Sugar
~ 1 Tsp Baking Soda
~ 1/4 Cup Citric Acid Crystals (Can be tricky to find. If your local gourmet/country store doesn’t have them, try here .)
~ 1/3 Cup of Corn Syrup
~ Small amount of Water (Just enough to get sugar wet)
~ 1/4-1 Tsp Flavoring (any extract will work. Use what you like! When using stronger flavors such as cinnamon, mint, and cherry, you can use a small amount (about 1/4 teaspoon). Subtler flavors such as lemon, strawberry, orange, and peach require more (1/2 to 1 teaspoon.)
~ A Few Drops of Food Coloring of your choice

Now you can make any flavor of Pop Rocks you’d like — bubble gum, cherry, foie gras, etc. Just don’t wash it down with Coke, or you might suffer the same fate as that Life cereal kid.

[link, via Boing Boing]